Outdoor recreation contributed $9.6 billion to the Colorado economy in 2020, according to the latest results of an annual reported prepared by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The added value of fishing, sailing and snow activities decreased $410 million.But the value of bicycling; canoeing and kayaking; camping, climbing and hiking; and other water sports increased a total of nearly $26.5 million. The value of activities related to the use of recreational vehicles increased $36 million and off-highway vehicles another $17 million.
Employment in outdoor recreation in Colorado totaled 120,000.
The numbers for 2020 dropped from 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions as well as the inclusion of outdoor recreation jobs within the pandemic-ravaged leisure and hospitality sector.
Economic output dropped more than 21 percent from a record $12.2 billion in 2019. Employment dropped 19.5 percent from 149,000.
But the pandemic also led to an increase in some forms of outdoor recreation, said Nathan Fey, director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, a part of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
“With so much isolation and loss, the outdoors was something we could all turn to in order to connect with our families and friends and maintain physical and mental health,” Fey said. “Outdoor recreation participation soared, especially close-to-home recreation. This increase highlighted two things: the importance of better access to the outdoors for everyone and the impact increased use has on the state’s outdoor recreation assets.”
The BEA, an agency of the Department of Commerce, bases its annual statistical snapshot of the outdoor recreation industry on national and state data.
Nationwide, the BEA calculated the effects of the outdoor recreation industry in 2020 at $689 billion in economic output and 4.3 million jobs. Economic output declined 17.4 percent and employment decreased 17.1 percent from 2019.
That reversed a trend. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the outdoor recreation economy was growing faster than the overall economy in the United States.
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